Amir Khan’s Five Greatest Wins

Amir Khan’s Five Greatest Wins

By Henry Walter

Former world champion Amir Khan retired earlier this year after a prodigious career. Here are Khan’s five greatest wins.

5. Chris Algieri (20-1) Non-title fight (welterweight)

Algieri had recently bested the highly feared Russian fighter Ruslan Provodnikov to capture the WBO Light-welterweight title. His rich vein of form had been interrupted by a wide decision loss to then pound for pound number one Manny Pacquiao but that defeat remained his solitary one.

Khan out-boxed and out-speeded a determined Algieri to take a unanimous decision, navigating some tricky moments against the bigger man. The victory once again proved that Khan was an elite fighter and saw him put considerable pressure on undefeated superstar Floyd Mayweather to face him.

4. Devon Alexander (26-3) Non-title fight (welterweight)

Devon Alexander had previously won world title belts in two weight divisions and was still rated very near the top of the welterweight division. He had rebounded well after losing his IBF world title to Shawn Porter by beating the highly rated Jesús Soto Karass on points. Khan bamboozled him with his blinding hand speed to win widely after a fantastic performance over twelve rounds.

3. Paulie Malignaggi (27-3) WBA light-welterweight championship defence

Paulie Malignaggi had lost his light-welterweight world title to British boxing legend Ricky Hatton in a brutal 2008 affair, that saw him stopped fairly easily by the rampaging brawler.

Undeterred Malignaggi had fought the brilliant former undisputed lightweight champion Juan Diaz on his comeback trail and had easily beat him over twelve rounds in an upset victory. He was therefore expected to provide Khan with an extremely stiff test for his American debut. Yet he became another victim of Khan’s world-class hand speed and was stopped on his feet in the eleventh, Khan’s fast hands having left him a bloody mess.

Three big wins post-Khan saw him high enough in the WBA rankings to challenge for their welterweight title which he duly won on points over Vyacheslav Senchenko to become a two-weight champion. Pablo César Cano and Zab Judah would also later lose to the “Magic Man.”

2. Zab Judah (41-6) WBA and IBF world light-welterweight unification

Heading into the Khan fight the formidable Judah had won five in very good company on route to capturing the IBF light-welterweight title. It was thought by many that his hand speed and skill would befuddle Khan but once the fight began Judah never got near him.

Khan boxed beautifully at the Mandalay Bay to dominate their super fight. Judah, like so many before him, had no answer to Khan’s movement and hand speed. He eventually succumbed to a body shot in the fifth round. The win saw Khan become the recognised number one in the division.

1. Marcos Maidana (29-1) WBA light-welterweight title defence

Teak tough Argentinian contender Marcos Maidana had just one previous loss before facing Khan, a razor-thin split-decision loss to Andreas Kotelnik in a world title fight. He had easily knocked out the highly regarded Victor Ortiz and convincingly bested DeMarcus Corley on points. With 27 knockout wins in 29 wins, he was seen as a very dangerous test for Khan’s suspect chin.

Khan blindsided him with scintillating speed in the opening minutes and a perfect left hook to the body had Maidana down and almost out. Yet incredibly Maidana climbed to his feet and gradually forced his way back into the fight. He had Khan wobbled and hurt with flush right hands in the later rounds but Khan showed incredible heart and fighting spirit to come through it and win a close, but thoroughly deserved, unanimous decision after a great fight.

The win propelled Khan to superstardom on both sides of the pond and went down as one of the greatest wins on American soil for a British fighter.

Maidana went on to defeat Mexican boxing legend Eric Morales on points in his very next fight. He later beat Jesús Soto Karass and upset the highly talented American Adrian Broner to win the WBA welterweight title in a big upset.

In 2014 he fought the pound-for-pound number one Floyd Mayweather for the Ring Magazine welterweight title and lost a highly debated majority decision, despite hurting Floyd with right hands and roughing him up in close throughout. Many critics felt Maidana had done enough to take Mayweather’s 0 and the close result highlighted just how well Khan had done against the Argentinian.